In Li Tai’s dormitory, Zhangsun sat steadily on the bed with a clever panda lying at her feet as a footrest. She held a delicate teapot in her hands, sipping intermittently. Li Zhi was already fast asleep in the outer room—these days he needed to sleep for very long periods.
This room had an excellent location, facing east from the north. After the sunlight was filtered through the glass windows to remove the cold, it shone in warmly. Without lighting a fire, the room was still comfortably warm.
Zhangsun craned her neck to look at Yun Ye and Li Tai, who were busy outside arranging the guards, then yawned. Having cried all morning, she was indeed somewhat fatigued. Aunt Mei helped loosen the Empress’s long hair and supported her as she lay down, saying softly, “Your Majesty is truly blessed. Prince Wei and Marquis Yun are now frightened and are outside discussing how to make you happy.”
“Now they know to be afraid—where were they earlier…” Zhangsun muttered and closed her eyes to sleep.
This was the first time such a condition had been discovered in the incredibly strong Zhangsun. Yun Ye and Li Tai were indeed at a loss. Yun Ye knew of Hong Funv’s illness. Even now, he still needed to go to Li Jing’s home to pay respects to Hong Fu. Although Hong Fu’s condition had improved considerably, this type of mental illness had tormented Hong Fu her entire life.
In the Great Tang, aside from his own family, Zhangsun was almost the person Yun Ye cared about most. Just thinking that Zhangsun might become crazy and foolish made Yun Ye want to grab a knife and hack at people.
Li Tai’s expression was equally grim. The two of them now both wore expressions warning others to stay away as they circled in the courtyard. When Aunt Mei came out from inside to tell Yun Ye and Li Tai that the Empress had fallen asleep, they finally breathed long sighs of relief.
“This won’t do. Li Zhi has now become the Empress’s mental demon. If we don’t settle him properly, the Empress will eventually drive herself mad. Although there’s nothing seriously wrong now, it’s hard to say about the future. Fifty-year-old women are already at a time when their personalities undergo major changes. If she suffers severe stimulation at this time, she might collapse. Even the Empress herself probably hasn’t noticed this, has she?”
“This past year, the Empress has been extremely obsessive in her actions. All her life’s purposes have been revolving around Li Zhi. She hasn’t even paid much attention to Doudou going to her master’s place. This is already abnormal.”
Li Tai nodded and said, “Indeed so. Mother now focuses all her energy on Little Zhi. She no longer concerns herself much with internal household affairs and has completely delegated them to my eldest brother. How do you think we should settle Little Zhi? Mother won’t feel at ease entrusting him to anyone.”
“Of course such a person exists. His Majesty made arrangements long ago. If Little Zhi goes there, he’ll be absolutely safe. Even if someone wants to assassinate him, they couldn’t succeed, because that place isn’t the mortal world but an immortal realm.”
“The old Daoist took His Majesty’s gold, took the Empress’s gold, and conveniently took my gold too. Where in this world do such cheap deals exist?”
“You mean Yuan Shoucheng’s Western Queen Mother Divine Palace? Can that old fraud’s words be trusted?”
Yun Ye smiled and said, “If he has the ability to deceive His Majesty, the Empress, and me, let him try—we’ll strip that old skin off him! This was originally His Majesty’s and the Empress’s plan. What’s wrong with executing it now?”
The window behind them suddenly opened. Zhangsun appeared at the window with her hair disheveled, looking at Li Tai and Yun Ye and asking, “Who do you plan to send to escort Little Zhi on a trip to Kunlun Mountain?”
“Qing Que, you can’t go. Yun Ye, you can’t either. Sending someone else won’t create pressure on Yuan Shoucheng, and besides, I don’t trust others! If something happens on the road, I won’t be able to go on living.”
Yun Ye smiled at Zhangsun and said, “You needn’t worry. If there’s really no choice, it’s fine for me to make the trip. However, this subject believes Zhangsun Chong is the best candidate!”
Hearing Yun Ye’s nomination, Zhangsun’s brow immediately furrowed. She understood Yun Ye’s meaning—better to use someone’s guilt than their merit. Right now, even if you gave Zhangsun Chong ten thousand times the courage, he wouldn’t dare harm Li Zhi. But the accumulated grievances between Zhangsun Wuji and Yun Ye were too deep. She was very worried that Yun Ye would use Li Zhi to strike at Zhangsun Wuji.
“This subject plans to reconcile with Zhangsun Chong. Continuing this awkwardness is ultimately very detrimental to the Great Tang. We’re all ministers serving in the same hall. Having strength but not using it externally, with our own people consuming each other internally—it’s truly meaningless. Moreover, regarding the candidate to escort Little Zhi to Kunlun Mountain, this subject believes Duan Hong can be one. Liu Jinbao should go too, as well as Qing Que’s chief guard. The Crown Prince’s side also needs to send someone. As long as Your Majesty considers them nobles who might be unfavorable to Little Zhi, they all need to send people, ultimately forming a hodgepodge guard unit. The leader of this guard unit will be Zhangsun Chong, while Duan Hong will be the person personally protecting Little Zhi. The people serving Little Zhi will be appointed by Your Majesty herself. Then we’ll draw a thousand soldiers from the Qianniu Guard to accompany Zhangsun Chong far into the desert. After sending Little Zhi up Kunlun Mountain, they must return immediately without lingering.”
Zhangsun nodded and said, “This method is indeed sound. As long as something happens to Little Zhi, not one person in the escort can escape responsibility. This palace will go draft the list now. This matter should be done sooner rather than later. Little Zhi has been constantly drowsy lately, and I’m very worried. Hopefully, once he reaches the divine palace, he can receive the Western Queen Mother’s protection. If there’s any improvement, he need never come down the mountain for his whole life. Just knowing he’s alive will give me peace of mind.”
After helping the Empress close the window, Yun Ye and Li Tai strolled along the small path. After a long silence, Li Tai asked, “You want to send Zhangsun Chong away to deal with my uncle?”
Yun Ye shook his head and said, “I’ve long been dealing with your uncle. Even if I wanted to strike a killing blow, it wouldn’t be at this time. You’re being paranoid now—why are you thinking of me as a conspirator too?”
“It’s extremely suspicious!” Li Tai wouldn’t let it go.
“What’s suspicious about it? I’m about to go to Yuezhou’s Dongting Lake to inspect the navy and see if the southbound fleet is ready. Old Scholar Guan Tinglong has already passed away, and I need to visit his grave. Don’t forget, I’m still wearing the hat of Yuezhou Prefect.”
“That’s exactly it. You’re going to Yuezhou, so you poke Zhangsun Chong all the way to Kunlun Mountain with one pole thrust. You’re too ruthless. Your trip to Yuezhou will be two or three months and you’ll return, but Zhangsun Chong going to Kunlun will take at least a year. I can calculate this account. You’re still that petty—if you’re not comfortable, you absolutely won’t let others be comfortable either.”
Having been exposed, Yun Ye just chuckled. He went to his room in the academy, brewed a pot of tea, and planned to have a good discussion with Li Tai about the steam engine.
Who knew that as soon as he opened his mouth, Li Tai scorned him: “This is a new invention—what do you understand? Go busy yourself with fighting for power in the court. Mind your own business regarding the steam engine. The students I’m leading are researching it day and night. The steam engine has already been updated to the third generation. Now it has no problem pushing a millstone. In the future, for grinding flour and hulling rice, we won’t need donkeys going in circles.” Having finished speaking, he smugly took a sip of tea and glanced sideways at Yun Ye, waiting to receive compliments.
Yun Ye really wanted to curse, but considering that Zhangsun was living not far away, he didn’t dare open his mouth. An idiot holding the most primitive teapot-style steam engine and playing the expert in front of himself—someone who had seen sports cars, warships, aircraft, and rockets—this was obviously sticking his face out asking to be slapped. Just as he was about to scorn him, he heard Li Tai sigh emotionally: “It’s really not easy. Finding predecessors’ insights about mechanical arts from vast and voluminous classics, then repeatedly recalibrating these mechanisms according to newly discovered theories in the academy, finally designing blueprints, having the iron foundry on the Dry Plains cast them, finally grinding, installing—now we’ve finally realized making millstones turn by themselves without human power, draft animals, water flow, or wind. It just consumes a great deal of coal. Grinding one bag of wheat flour consumes coal worth more than the flour. Sometimes I don’t even know why I’m doing such thankless work.”
One sentence left Yun Ye speechless. What he said was correct. This was the Zhenguan period of the Great Tang, not his world where cars ran everywhere. Many places were still at the stage of slash-and-burn agriculture. European civilization was now in its darkest period of ignorance. The emergence of mechanical civilization was originally something worthy of special mention in human development history.
Creating out of thin air a ship that could run by itself, a mill that could turn by itself, an airplane that could fly by itself—this was a great revolution. So yes, Li Tai truly deserved praise. Even if he behaved a bit more proudly, it was perfectly justified.
He patted Li Tai’s shoulder to express admiration.
“Hypatia is leaving, and I’m very reluctant. Ye Zi, hearing that you’re going to Yuezhou, I lost my composure a bit—not because of Zhangsun Chong, but because of Hypatia. Your going to Yuezhou means the fleet has made preparations. Once you approve, this fleet will travel far to the distant horizon. This way, my heart will be taken away too. I’d rather she stay and bicker with me every day and lose her temper than have her risk danger at the distant horizon.”
“Last night Hypatia told me that life is originally a great adventure. People who haven’t experienced adventure are fools who can’t see the most beautiful scenery or enjoy the greatest happiness. She also said that if she hadn’t adventured east, she wouldn’t have met me, wouldn’t have harvested her love, and wouldn’t have such brilliant academic achievements. Having lived in Chang’an for so many years, she found she’d lost her passion, so she wants to regain happiness and joy through adventure. Tell me, who else will she meet later? Who else could be better than me?”
What he said in the beginning was very affectionate; what he said at the end was quite shameless. Li Tai was a smart person, so he didn’t need others to give him advice. He just needed someone qualified to listen to him speak. Yun Ye was qualified in every respect.
“I sent a team of guards and four martial arts-trained palace maids to serve her. The first duty of those four palace maids is to kill people. As long as any man tries to curry favor with Hypatia, they can take action. Scholar Hua in the academy who specializes in studying alchemy recently discovered a poison that seals the throat upon contact with blood. A piece the size of a mustard seed can poison a person to death alive, even poisoning a camel to death is no problem. I prepared a bottle for the four palace maids…”
“You might as well poison Hypatia to death yourself. Your wife has already grown into the shape of a meat bun—being chased by wild dogs is normal!” Yun Ye really couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke out in refutation.